The Tokyo real estate market is ever changing and as one of the highest fixed costs it has a profound effect on every company.

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games approaching, landlords are bullish and contractors have limited capacity and are experiencing historic profit levels. This month’s luncheon focuses on getting inside perspectives from key market players on how they view the current market status and their thoughts on future forecasts.

Shinichiro Fujisawa, a Deputy Managing Director at Shimizu Corporation, one of the ‘Top 5’ Japanese General Contractors will join a major landlord representative and our Todd Olson, President of Cushman & Wakefield, in a discussion of the current market and trends focusing on how it may continue to impact your business moving forward.

Please join us for this real estate market update and discussion.

Date– Thursday, 9 June 1230PM-1400PM
Venue–
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

Understanding The Global Web Of Customer Data Protection Laws

Both the EU and Japan have significantly amended their data protection laws. The new laws will enter into force in 2017 for Japan, 2018 for the EU. At the same time, the rules governing transfers of personal data between the US and the EU are being renegotiated. Some of these changes are very important and may impact how customer data or employee data is being managed. The presentation will focus on the impact for foreign retailers in Japan, but is something every CEO should understand.

In the May CEO Insights meeting, CI members will get a chance to meet with one of Japan’s foreign lawyers practicing in the country.  CI welcomes Jean-Denis Marx, a partner with Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) who will share his insights as a lawyer representing the needs of many famous companies in Japan and helping them understand how events abroad effect their local and global businesses.

Date– Tuesday, 17 May 1230PM-1400PM
Venue–
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

Understanding The Global Web Of Customer Data Protect Laws

Both the EU and Japan have significantly amended their data protection laws. The new laws will enter into force in 2017 for Japan, 2018 for the EU. At the same time, the rules governing transfers of personal data between the US and the EU are being renegotiated. Some of these changes are very important and may impact how customer data or employee data is being managed. The presentation will focus on the impact for foreign retailers in Japan, but is something every CEO should understand.

In the May CEO Insights meeting, CI members will get a chance to meet with one of Japan’s foreign lawyers practicing in the country.  CI welcomes Jean-Denis Marx, a partner with Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) who will share his insights as a lawyer representing the needs of many famous companies in Japan and helping them understand how events abroad effect their local and global businesses.

Date– Friday, 13 May 1230PM-1400PM
Venue–
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

The media is a powerful force in every country. We see the influence in social media and other ways to broadcast your corporate message changing. Media in Japan works very differently from media in other countries. This turns into a special challenge during crisis situations where the company reputation is at stake. Foreign firms in particular struggle as they have to manage both the Japanese media but also headquarters back home. More than once the Japan MD has been replaced by headquarters during or after a crisis happening in Japan.

In the April C20, we welcome Jochen Legewie the MD of CNC Japan to discuss managing the media and show the typical challenges and pitfalls and how to keep your job while also offering hands-on advise how to prevail and overcome crisis situations with the company reputation intact. After this meeting, you will be better prepared for dealing with the Japanese press.

Date– Friday, 15 April 1230PM-1400PM
Venue–
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

Biography:
Dr. Jochen Legewie is Managing Director of CNC Japan, the Tokyo office of the strategic communications consultancy CNC headquartered in Munich/London. He has studied at Hitotsubashi University and Cologne University, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Economics in 1996. Spending over 20 years in Japan, he is fluent in Japanese, German and English and has authored numerous books on business and politics. He is a sought after commentator on Japan issues and has appeared on BBC, Bloomberg TV and BS Japan. He is widely published in various journals and newspapers. He is one of the few foreign trustees of business federation Keizai Doyukai and Vice-Chair of its Europe/Russia Committee.
Between 2001 and 2004, he served as Executive Officer in charge of Communications at Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. Prior to this, he was Vice-Director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies. He has also worked at Keidanren and as a freelance journalist.
Over the last 15 years, he has been dealing with a number of high profile company crises, both from inside of affected companies and from outside as a communications consultant.

The CEO Insights group was founded in 2004 for a reason. For top leaders to share things that work. Companies are not just about selling a product or service, business is also about who is selling those products. Who are the leaders of that brand, what is their vision, and where are they taking things?

In the April CI Luncheon, we’ll be addressing why it is important for a CEO to have a personal mission and contrast that with ambition. You will hear some real “case study” type of experience with CEOs as well as insights from our guest speaker Mr. Philippe Grall.

Mr. Grall is runs équilibre k.k. and has been a very positive force on many foreign CEOs in Japan as well as Japanese companies and their teams. You will have an opportunity to reflect under Phlippe’s experienced hand.

Date– Tuesday, 12 April 1230PM-1400PM
Venue–
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

Philippe’s Background:
After six years of experience at Autobacs Seven Co. Ltd. in Tokyo, and helping the firm go international, Philippe Grall set up équilibre k.k. in 2006. équilibre k.k. is a coaching company for leaders. Following his passion to support executives to become inspirational leaders, Philippe uses his unique coaching approach to help them develop their personal leadership.
Corporate leaders working with équilibre k.k. have found inspiration. This inspiration has shifted their motivation from personal ambitions to finding their mission and ultimately having a tremendous positive influence on their organizations. Philippe has coached more than 100 premium brand Top-Executives and now is a well-recognized executive leadership coach in Japan.

Diversity in the workplace, especially at middle and senior management levels, has now come to be globally accepted as one of the critical levers for getting the best out of people and creating value. Even in Japan, with the Abe administration pushing “womenomics” to create “a society where every individual can shine”, diversity has emerged on the corporate agenda as a mainstream item.

Notwithstanding, getting the most out of your female workforce requires more than government policy, especially in an inherently male-dominated culture like Japan. Elizabeth Masamune, Managing Director of @Asia Associates Japan, will explain what you need to know about the new Promotion of Women’s Career Activities Act coming into effect from April 2016. Equally importantly, she will provide insights into the leadership and development barriers that Japanese female professionals face, and the reasons that so many of them hesitate to ask for more.

Date– Thursday, 14 April 1230PM-1400PM
Venue–
Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan　

Elizabeth has spent 25 years in Asia as a senior diplomat with the Australian Trade Commission, and over 15 years in Japan. Fluent in Japanese, she currently serves on advisory boards and advises clients on cross cultural communication, cultural intelligence and initiatives aimed at supporting women in business.

We are pleased to invite you to the 2016 Spring CEO Insights Forum (CIF). The CIF is a semi-annual gathering of 30 plus company c-levels for connecting, networking, and insights. This is all done over great food and free flowing drink. All at Oakwood’s new hotel facility just adjacent to Tokyo Station.

Past CIF meetings have brought in leadership of Amazon, American Express, ToysRus, Sumitomo, Mitsubishi, Major League Baseball, Saatchi & Saatchi, and many other insightful speakers. In this year’s Spring event, we are pleased to have two great speakers and lots of time for Q&A and networking with other top executives of some of the world’s most influential brands.

In the Spring CIF, we will have two interesting executive speakers. One will be Mr. Toshitake KUROSAWA from METI. He is the Deputy Director-General, Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau. He will be sharing on how MNCs (multi-national corporations) can maximize their dealings with the Japanese government.

In addition, we will be welcoming Mr. Peter Landers, the Tokyo Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal, a Dow Jones company. Mr. Landers is also a writer and seasoned presenter and will be giving his take on the Japan of the future. What Japanese companies will look like in 15 years, and how multi-nationals corporations can prepare for future business.

Don’t miss this opportunity to network with the Japan’s top business leaders. Space is limited so please book your seat soon by using our online registration

We look forward to seeing you there!

Event– Spring CEO Insights Forum (CIF)
Date– Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Time– 7PM-830PM
Venue– Oakwood Primere Tokyo (@ Tokyo Station)
1-8-2 Marunouchi,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 100-0005 – Venue info here.
Cost-8,500 Yen
Registration Closes 14 May, 5PM

Sign up here via our online registration. We will be focusing on the event that evening therefore invoices and payments will be completed prior to event day.

**The CEO Insights Forum is a focus group of c-level (CEO, CFO, COO..) executives of leading firms.

When we began our jobs, we worked on the line and talked with clients directly and dealt with our teams. We had a good understanding of what the customer wanted and how our teams were doing in delivering service.

However, as we rose in the ranks and entered into the c-suite, it sometimes becomes more of a challenge to keep a finger on the pulse of the business and what exactly the customer wants.

In the March CI luncheon, you will be inspired as we discuss how to enhance the customer experience and several case studies.

See you in March!

Date– Thursday, 17 March 1230PM-1400PM
Venue–
Roppongi Hills Club- Star Anise
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

Running a company is no easy matter. There are not just issues of profit and loss but also regulatory, legal, and operational issues that a c-level must be thinking about. When the company is a homogeneous group of people, business is complicated. However, when you are a multinational l corporation (MNC) in a multicultural environment, you’ve got additional challenges to consider on top of the usual ones of business model and governance.

In the March CI meeting, Laurent Depus, CEO of Natixis Japan will be sharing his insights on how to avoid the pits and falls of a multinational experience. Laurent not only runs an MNC but also sits on the board of an influential Japanese institution and sees these things first hand.

Come join us for another insightful lunch in March!

Date– Friday, 18 March 1230PM-1400PM
Venue–
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan